Former Illinois football DBs end Baltimore Ravens historic winning streak

Illinois football has seen an influx of NFL talent over the past couple of years.

With a new coaching staff coming in late 2020, the Illini saw a resurgence of talent on the field. The quality and quantity of players coming in improved, and the talent on the field developed in ways no one could have imagined.

Illinois sent multiple players into the NFL via the draft this past April. Devon Witherspoon took the spotlight, as he was selected No. 5 overall by the Seattle Seahawks. While he will have a sensational rookie year, two other former Illini were the center of attention on Monday night.

The Washington Commanders took the field against the Baltimore Ravens in what was a fairly meaningless game on paper. It was both of the team’s second preseason game of the year.

Despite the game not having meaning in the standings, the Ravens were playing for a streak that was unheard of. They came into the game on Monday night on a 24-game winning streak in the preseason. This is a mind-blowing number considering it is hard to know what you are going to get each game in the preseason. Winning multiple games in a row is impressive, let alone 24 games.

Baltimore was in a good position to extend the preseason winning streak to 25 games. They scored quickly on a 75-yard drive to open the game. Up 7-3, the Ravens were driving again to extend the lead. They got down to the Washington 28-yard line. Josh Johnson threw a pass in the left sideline of the end zone. That is when the game changed.

Coming down with the ball wasn’t Baltimore wide receiver James Proche, who was the intended pass catcher. No, no, no, it was former Illinois defensive back, Jartavius Martin. The talented safety, currently listed on the second string, picked off Johnson and changed the momentum of the game.

Two touchdowns later, Washington would head into the halftime locker room with a 17-14 lead. The Illinois impact wasn’t done there, though.

Washington lost the lead in the second half but managed to regain the lead, 29-28, with nine seconds left in the game. The Ravens had time to get into field goal range. One good pass and Justin Tucker would have had a chance to win it for Baltimore.

Ravens quarterback Anthony Brown dropped back, looking for a man deep on the right sideline. He let the ball fly. Instead of a Baltimore wide receiver coming down with a big catch, former Illinois defensive back Kendall Smith ended the game with an interception. The Ravens would end their preseason winning streak at 24 games.

Ball-hawking is nothing new to Washington Commanders and former Illinois football defensive backs Kendall Smith and Jartavius Martin

Having two former Illini players end the longest preseason winning streak in NFL history is pretty cool. Martin and Smith are going to be great assets to the Washington franchise.

These two are used to ball-hawking, though. On an Illinois defense that ranked No. 2 in the country in points allowed and No. 1 in the country in interceptions per game, both Smith and Martin were stars.

Smith, who went undrafted, was second on the Illinois roster with five interceptions in 2022. Martin wasn’t too far behind, as he finished third on the team with three interceptions. They also combined for 16 pass deflections in the final season in Champaign.